New York City is a hustling, bustling places where new developments are a constant fact of life.
Recently, a man has made front page news in the city and beyond due to his insistence at holding up one of the most high profile new projects in the city: a $70 million condo development that is being held up by his resistance to moving.
The man, 52-year-old Ahmet Nejat Ozsu, refuses to budge.
“It’s two things: I have the right to be here, and I have no place to go,” he said according to Yahoo! News.
According to news reports from the city, the standoff could drag on for years.
He’s Said to Be Angling for a ‘Seven-Figure Payout’
The Naftali Group says he is angling for a ‘seven-figure payout’ and has put its multimillion-dollar investment in limbo, setting off a landlord-tenant stalemate that is becoming legendary within the New York City real estate market.
Ozsu is reportedly armed with renter protection due to COVID that has has been enacted to prevent evictions, meaning the standoff could last for years.
Twenty-Five Million Dollar Lawsuit Filed as Apartment Dweller Stands His Ground Against Constant ‘Bullying Tactics’
Ozsu has applied for the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which has been created to help tenants pay for overdue rent.
In most cases, a tenant cannot be evicted while their application is open.
If Ozsu’s request is approved, he could stay in the apartment for another year to build up savings for a job he started in March.
He is the only tenant out of 128 who has refused to move, and now he is being subjected to what his lawyer calls ‘bullying tactics.’
A loud air filter has been placed outside of his door and a camera has been installed outside of his apartment, fixed on his front door.
“It sounds like a jet,” Ozsu said about the air filter.
“It feels like it’s at the back of your head all the time.”
The air filter is “actually for his health and safety” according to David Scharf, the chairman of a law firm representing the developer.
Meanwhile, the Neftali Group has filed a $25 million lawsuit against him, and Ozsu says he was offered $30,000 to leave.
He is believed to be holding out for over one million dollars according to Scharf, and he continues to refuse to budge from his top floor apartment, which overlooks the Upper West Side and fetches a rental price of $3,350 per month.
Ozsu attempted to pay back the roughly $13,600 rent owed before his pandemic assistance application was filed, but the owner’s legal team said it would reject the payment.
He insists he’s exercising his rights to stay in the apartment and refuses to leave on principle.
“It’s the defamation of my character — that’s when I said, ‘No, I’m going to fight this,’” Ozsu said.
